


Beneath the Masks

by Okami01



Series: Soft Goro Week Halloween2020 [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Banter, Denial of Feelings, M/M, Pining, Soft Goro Week 2020, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:56:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okami01/pseuds/Okami01
Summary: Akira and Akechi go costume shopping together due ridiculous reasons. Akechi definitely does not have any feelings about it or Akira.For Soft Goro Week Halloween- Day 2 - Scares and Spookiness
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira
Series: Soft Goro Week Halloween2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995217
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Beneath the Masks

It's late when Akechi gets a text. He stifles his irritation, grabbing his phone, and preparing for whatever nonsense the world is trying to throw at him.this time. 

But it's Akira so it's a different type of nonsense. One that he liked secretly a little more than work. 

" What are u wearing 4 Halloween?"

Akechi reads the text. He squints. 

What is that supposed to mean?

"I am not wearing anything, " he texts back.

To which immediately Akira replies. " O that's bold (;"

Akechi frowns. Hopes that this will be the end of the conversation. 

His phone buzzes again. " U R coming to LeBlanc?"

He doesn't really remember agreeing to coming there. Akira and the test of the Phantom Thieves sort of do whatever they please. Which is annoying for a million different reasons. 

Akechi is only putting up with them because it's advantageous to do so. 

" Fine," he texts back.

" Nice. G night (:"

There is something very wrong with the Phantom Thieves leader.

_____

There is something very wrong with Akira Kurusu for many reasons. Akechi decides to add, ' showing up at his house uninvited to the list.' 

Akechi's phone buzzes. ' Were outside your house.' 

Akechi is sitting in his kitchen drinking coffee (that may or may not be as good as Akira's which is beside the point.) He's reading the news. Or he was until his phone started to ring again. 

And who is 'we'? Akechi thinks. All the Phantom Thieves or Akira and that fool of a cat. 

And why. It's not Halloween. Maybe he doesn't mind seeing Akira on other days besides the ones when they were supposed to meet and yet, he's annoyed. 

Or he pretends to be because the alternative is much more unappealing. The last thing he needs to do is to be excited. 

Akechi stomps, well more elegantly than a stomp, towards the elevator and then down to the ground floor. Until he can see Akira, alone, well talking to the cat.

Akira sort of smiles when he sees Akechi. Kr at least Akechi thinks he does, not that he cares. 

Akechi resists the urge to scowl or cross his arms or any of the things he wants to do when he's annoyed.

" Hello, Kurusu-kun."

Akira probably wouldn't care anyway. 

" You're fast," Akira observes.

" I am. You're in front of my house three days ahead of schedule."

" I don't need a schedule to see you." Akira smiles or more like a smirk. Something. It does something to Akechi that he quickly decides he doesn't like. So do those words

Then, " do you have a costume?"

" Pardon me?'

" For Halloween?"

Why would he need or want a costume? The whole premise of Halloween was ridiculous in the first place. And it was something Akechi was used to in a way. He was always dressing up, putting on performances. Why would he want to unnecessarily?

Though he finds that he wants to say he does so that Akira would be wrong. Standing here smiling and not saying anything isn't exactly a good strategy. 

" Your detective outfit doesn't count."

Akechi finds words again. Tries not to sound annoyed. Not that it particularly matters with Akira. " I never said it did."

Akira steps forward, smirking again. " Neither does your metaverse outfit."

" And why would you want to wear that ridiculous pointy prince thing anyway," Morgana says from somewhere in Akira's bag. Which is fine because, if Akechi can't see the furball, maybe he'll be able to suppress his need to strangle him.

" It's not stupid," Akechi says. He thinks he hears Akira laugh. 

" We're here to help you buy one."

" See," Morgana says. " I told you he didn't have one."

" And why exactly would I need one?"

Akira seems to feign hurt. " You don't listen to half of what I say."

Unfortunately, that isn't true.  
___

The story is explained to him as they start to walk towards the train station. 

Futaba wants candy. And for some reason, she and the other Phantom Thieves think it would be a good idea to go trick or treating to other people's houses. She can get away with passing for a kid. Akechi doesn't remember agreeing to this. He's pretty sure Futaba just wanted to buy a Featherman costume.  
And why don't we just buy candy?

This is more fun, says Akira. 

That's debatable at best. Insane at worst. He isn't sure there's a single scenario that would be considered fun. But Akechi is still doing his reconnaissance. 

So Akechi ends up at the popup costume store. 

Morgana has blessedly started to take a catnap. 

" What costume do you want?" Akira inevitably asks. 

Had you considered what I wanted, I wouldn't be in this mess, Akechi thinks about snapping back.  
Instead, he watches Akira flip through cheap-looking costumes for last-minute suckers.

" I wouldn't be able to choose," Akechi shrugs. " Which is why you're here I suppose."  
Akira nods. He pulls out a Robin Hood outfit from somewhere.

Akechi shakes his head. Leans in close and whispers, " why wouldn't you just steal the candy."

Akira stares back. " Trying to catch me in the act?"

The shifts out of reach, eyes darting to the rack again. He pulls a police outfit from somewhere.

No doubt that Niijima girl would want to wear something like that. Or a librarian. That's the thing about costumes. Librarians and police officers already exist for better or for worse. So why should you pretend to be something that you aren't or waste time pretending when you can do something.

Of course, there's a reason why Robin Hood and princes riding in on white horses saving the day aren't real. Akechi doesn't know if they ever were real. If they ever could be. 

" Kurusu-kun, if I were trying to catch you, you would be caught."  
He says, grabbing hold of the police costume before Akira can think better of it."

" That's a relief that you aren't trying to catch me." His hand brushes up against Akechi's.

Akechi flashes a fake smile. " I'm glad you're relieved. "

Akira shakes his head. " If this was what you're like chasing me then it wouldn't be a very exciting run."

" You've some strange ideas about what is exciting."

Akira shrugs. " You too."

They stare at each other for a while. Akira's glasses glint in the cheap fluorescent lighting

Before Akira shifts away again, and Akechi fights the urge he feels to actively give chase. His hand is still warm. And thinking about what he'd do if he caught Akira doesn't particularly help anything. So he starts talking again. 

"I suppose that if the criminals in stories where we're supposed to root for them were boring, then we wouldn't care about them." He looks at someone's version of a Lupin III costume and sighs.  
He looks back at Akira again because he'd rather be staring at him than any of the costumes. He looks serious again but unfortunately, there's a lot behind those looks that Akechi hasn't fully been able to decipher.  
" Just as no one would have any use for a bumbling detective." He sort of laughs because it's sort of funny. Not in the usual sense but the fact that it's very true.

Akira laughs. " Someone has to have an interest in detectives no matter what they do."

" Seems rather counterintuitive to feel that way when you're a criminal yourself." 

Akira stares at him again, still sort of smirking. He shakes his head. "Not unless you're caught."

" What, stealing, or having an interest in detectives."

" Aren't you a detective? You should be able to figure it out."

Akechi steps forward, again, he doesn't know what for. He wants to throw Akira up against a wall and wipe that smirk off his face.

" Oh," Akira says before he gets his thoughts together. " There's a crow costume." He laughs again and Akechi wonders how un detective prince like it would be to smack it out of Akira's hand. 

If Akechi looks annoyed, Akira isn't bothered by it. He seems almost spurred on by it, now twirling a cat ear headband between his dexterous fingers. He should be scared or something close to it. " You'd like fine in anything. No matter what you wear. "

Akechi does scoff at this, roll his eyes. Make his annoyance known. What a ridiculous thing to say.

" Where would I be without your compelling remarks."

Akira stares back at him until it's hard for Akechi to pretend that his face isn't warm. It's hard to pretend a lot of things at the moment. 

"What are you wearing?" Akechi forces himself to ask. 

" A hoodie, they're warm this time of year."

Akechi forces himself not to curse. " For Halloween." He clarifies. 

" Mmm, do you want to match?"

" No," Akechi says even though he wouldn't mind all that much. If this nonsense is happening he might as well fully commit to it.

Instead, he grabs the cat headband out of Akira's hand. 

Once again, Akira doesn't seem bothered. " Gap Moe then?"

Akechi sighs, heads for the checkout counter. He doesn't know what that means and he doesn't think he wants to.  
.

___

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Soft Goro Week Spooky Edition. Thanks for reading! Does this follow the prompt? Maybe... I mean... what's scarier then being around someone who you clearly have a crush on while pretending you don't?  
> Also, plot twist, Akechi doesn't remember being invited because he never was. Akira was afraid he'd say no.
> 
> @Tavitay on Twitter


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